Guilty pleasure poetry

Tag Archives: Jonathan Steffen

Thank you to everyone who came to our packed calendar of poetry events this April, whether it was the Salt Publishing reading at Beaconsfield’s library (with poets Liane Strauss, Tim Dooley and Chris Emery), or Tori Truslow’s poetry workshop, or our regular poetry & open mic night which has relocated to the Jolly Cricketers in Seer Green (with featured readings by Jonathan Steffen, Tori Truslow and Christine Webb). The event was reviewed by Melanie Gow for Annexe magazine.

We hope to see you at the next Poetry & Open Mic night at the Jolly Cricketers which will take place on 18 June, 7pm, with featured readings by James Byrne,Kayo Chingonyi, Kirsten Irving, and Emily Hasler!

Below are some pictures of the April events:

Picture of library event taken by Caroline Ing

Carolin Ing took this picture of the Library event!

The crowd at Beaconsfield’s library

Jonathan Steffen at the Jolly Cricketers

John Mason reading in the open mic

Tori Truslow reading at the Jolly Cricketers

Christine Webb reading at the Jolly Cricketers

A pamphlet printed especially for the poetry and open mic night at the Jolly Cricketers

Jonathan Steffen is a modern troubadour, whose work encompasses poetry, short stories, novels, literary translations, songs and instrumental music.

He has just had a collection of poems, Colour of Love, published by Accumen Publishing.

His work has appeared in a wide range of anthologies and magazines, including the London Magazine, The Spectator, the New Statesman & Society, Signals, Firebird, BABEL, Outposts, Acumen, Orbis and Poem for the Day. He has also published full-length translations of novels and academic works from the German and the French. Jonathan has widely published poems, short stories, essays and literary translations. His poem Falcon to the Falconer has travelled world wide.

April will be a fruitful month for poetry, with not one but TWO excellent poetry events happening in Beaconsfield and its surroundings…

Our next evening of featured poets & open mic will be at the wonderful Jolly Cricketers, in Seer Green, Beaconsfield. As you can see from the picture, our next loose theme for this next event will be ‘Maps’. You can share poetry you’ve written on the theme, or ignore it altogether.

Our featured poets are: Jim Bennett, Amy Key, Jonathan Steffen and Christine Webb. Posts in the lead up to the event will appear on this website with more information on these poets.

To put you in the mood, here is a poem by Elizabeth Bishop ‘The Map’:

The Map

Land lies in water; it is shadowed green.
Shadows, or are they shallows, at its edges
showing the line of long sea-weeded ledges
where weeds hang to the simple blue from green.
Or does the land lean down to lift the sea from under,
drawing it unperturbed around itself?
Along the fine tan sandy shelf
is the land tugging at the sea from under?

The shadow of Newfoundland lies flat and still.
Labrador’s yellow, where the moony Eskimo
has oiled it. We can stroke these lovely bays,
under a glass as if they were expected to blossom,
or as if to provide a clean cage for invisible fish.
The names of seashore towns run out to sea,
the names of cities cross the neighboring mountains
-the printer here experiencing the same excitement
as when emotion too far exceeds its cause.
These peninsulas take the water between thumb and finger
like women feeling for the smoothness of yard-goods.

Mapped waters are more quiet than the land is,
lending the land their waves’ own conformation:
and Norway’s hare runs south in agitation,
profiles investigate the sea, where land is.
Are they assigned, or can the countries pick their colors?
-What suits the character or the native waters best.
Topography displays no favorites; North’s as near as West.
More delicate than the historians’ are the map-makers’ colors.